Crypto mining stocks dip as SEC issues subpoena for Marathon Digital mining facility

November 15, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Share prices of Marathon Digital stock dropped, as did those from major crypto mining firms including Riot Blockchain, Bitfarms, Bit Digital, and Hut 8.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has ordered crypto mining firm Marathon Digital Holdings to produce documents and communications for one of its mining facilities in Montana.

According to a Nov. 15 filing with the SEC, Marathon Digital received a subpoena concerning an investigation concerning possible violations of the federal securities law related to its Hardin, Montana data center. In the third quarter of 2021, the SEC ordered the mining firm to produce documents and communications for the 100 megawatt facility, which it made arrangements to develop and stock with Bitcoin (BTC) miners in October 2020.

Marathon Digital said it was cooperating with the SEC’s investigation but did not go into details regarding the subpoena. A separate filing from October 2020 shows the company issued 6 millions shares of restricted Common Stock “in transactions exempt from registration.”

Share prices of Marathon Digital stock dropped roughly 17% today to $63.07 as news of the subpoena reached major outlets, as did those from major crypto mining firms including Riot Blockchain, Bitfarms, Bit Digital, and Hut 8 — falling 6%, 2%, 3%, and 5%, respectively. Though the stock prices may fall when the price of BTC drops, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro shows the crypto asset has only dipped roughly 2.4% today to reach $63,798 at the time of publication.

Earlier today, Marathon Digital announced it was planning to buy more BTC and set up new crypto miners through a $500 million private debt offering. Cointelegraph reported on Nov. 3 that the company’s MARA stock reached a six-year high price, with the mining firm accumulating $460 million worth of Bitcoin.

Marathon Digital stock reaches 6-year high as company HODLs $460M Bitcoin

November 3, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Marathon Digital stock reaches 6-year high as company HODLs 0M Bitcoin

Bitcoin mining

The mining firm said it expects its fleet of 133,000 miners to produce a hash rate of roughly 13.3 EH/s by 2023.

U.S.-based crypto mining company Marathon Digital Holdings holds more than $460 million in Bitcoin mainly from mining and purchases since last year.

According to a Nov. 2 report, the mining firm said it had been HODLing all Bitcoin (BTC) generated from its mining operations — roughly 2,640 BTC — since its last sale in October 2020. In addition, Marathon Digital purchased more than 4,812 BTC in January when the price of the crypto asset was under $35,000. At the time of publication, the BTC price is $62,056, giving the mining firm’s 7,453 BTC holdings a value of roughly $462 million.

The company has continued to ramp up its mining operations despite global supply chain issues affecting the distribution of crypto mining rigs. Marathon Digital reported it had chartered planes for some of the 42,381 ASIC miners currently in its possession, allowing the firm to produce more than 417 BTC in October. The majority of the miners are currently being used at the firm’s facility in Montana, while 12,331 rigs are pending deployment at a Compute North facility in Texas.

Shares of Marathon Digital Holdings, under the ticker MARA, also surged to more than $63 today, marking highs not seen since May 2015. The crypto mining stock has since fallen to $61.36 at the time of publication.

The mining firm announced in May it plans to achieve 70% carbon neutrality for its operations despite plans to scale up with the deployment of more than 90,000 previously purchased miners. According to Marathon Digital, it expects the fleet of 133,000 miners to produce a hash rate of roughly 13.3 EH/s by 2023.

Silvergate Bank issues $100M credit line to mining firm Marathon Digital

October 4, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Silvergate Bank issues 0M credit line to mining firm Marathon Digital

Business

"We remain optimistic that we are well positioned to scale our hash rate to 13.3 EH/s by the middle of 2022,” said Marathon Digital CEO Fred Thiel.

Marathon Digital Holdings, a United States-based crypto mining company, has secured a $100 million revolving line of credit with Silvergate Bank using USD and Bitcoin.

According to information provided by Marathon Digital, the mining firm obtained the $100 million credit line from the crypto-friendly bank on Friday. The company will use the credit to purchase Bitcoin (BTC) mining equipment and fund its mining operations. Marathon Digital said it expects Silvergate to renew the revolving line of credit annually after the initial one-year arrangement.

In addition, Marathon Digital reported it had produced more than 1,252 BTC — roughly $59.5 million at the time of publication — during the third quarter of 2021, with 340.6 BTC minted in September alone— a 91% increase over Q2. The increase in Bitcoin production follows the firm acquisition of 26,960 ASIC mining machines from Bitmain, with an additional 8,459 miners expected soon. Its current operations produce a hashrate of roughly 2.7 EH/s.

“While the rate at which we receive miners has fluctuated and may continue to do so in the near-term, we remain optimistic that we are well-positioned to scale our hash rate to 13.3 EH/s by the middle of 2022,” said Marathon Digital CEO Fred Thiel.

Some major U.S. investment managers and financial services firms have purchased stakes in Marathon Digital, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As of June 30, investment manager BlackRock owned a 6.71% stake in Marathon Digital, while Fidelity Investments purchased a 7.4% stake in the company for $20 million in July.

The increase in quarterly mining production could have been affected by reports of China cracking down on local miners as well as its consideration of regulatory actions on crypto. Crypto prices have likewise experienced significant volatility in 2021. According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, the BTC price has risen by 16% in the last week to reach $47,627 at the time of publication.

marathon digital